


As We Know It

by PerpetuallyCreated



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:34:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4532796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerpetuallyCreated/pseuds/PerpetuallyCreated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It may not be the end of the world, but their lives have certainly changed. From survival to separation, to discovering strange powers- they'll have to find a way to make it through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Screams. Crashing. The roar of the fire._

_The commotion rang in her ears as she stood amidst the wreckage of what had been their home, casting about frantically in search of the others. Eyes watering from the smoke, she strained to pick out the direction the frantic voices were coming from. Her head jerked to the side as a desperate-sounding shout of something that sounded like her name rang out nearby- it had to be them._

_Heedless of the remnants of the door that hung in the frame, she barreled through the doorway to the larger, empty adjoining room. She halted again, uncertain; an ominous cracking sound from overhead warned her an instant before a section of the roof crashed down at her feet. She sprang aside, cursing, as yet another chorus of yells erupted from nearby. Her mind registered one thing– outside– and she whirled around, springing to the other side of the room and clambering through the empty frame of a recently shattered window. In her haste, her shoe caught at the edge of the sill, sending her tumbling in a tight roll to the grass directly below. She spared a second of thankfulness that she had been on the ground floor before straightening, palms grazing her newly scraped knees that stung in the smoky night air. Hearing the sounds of struggle, she knew that the others were nearby; she dashed through the smoke, turned the corner of the burning house, and was met with a scene of chaos._

_In the courtyard, illuminated by the light of the blaze behind them, two women labored to drag the seemingly unconscious body of a third out of range of the fire and the clouds of smoke that billowed from the building. The shock of bleached hair, bright blonde despite a coating of ash, confirmed her identity: Megan. Becky and Lauren were absorbed in moving her a safe distance away, both coughing from the thick smoke._

_In the split second she processed their condition and began to move towards them, an inhuman roar rang out from the courtyard’s other side._

_She halted, briefly frozen, as three women came into view, backing away from the nearby fringe of trees with defensively outstretched hands- in one case, two long outstretched sticks. The bushes on the periphery of the woods were rustling as though something lay tangled in them, though the shaking began to stop as the girls got closer to her. The adrenaline-blitzed sense of danger she’d been feeling since the fire started seemed to heighten, if possible, and twisted into a lingering, back-of-the-neck-prickling dread as she realized just how big whatever they were retreating from would have to be in order to shake so many of the bushes like that._

_As they hurried backwards toward her, the girl in the middle, holding the sticks like swords, glanced over her shoulder with a fearful expression, and met her eyes; in an instant she turned, bolting the rest of the distance with the others at her heels._

_“Abby!”_

_“Tob-“ Her voice was cut off as Tobin collided with her side, Alex and Kling right behind her. The three of them clung to her for a moment, a reflex born of the shock of the moment, before she pulled back, her hands on Tobin’s shoulders._

_“I thought that maybe you hadn’t made it out, that if you didn’t hear Alex calling your name then something must have gone wrong or-“ She shook Tobin’s shoulder lightly to cut off the normally calm girl’s hurried words, catching and holding her frantic gaze in an attempt to steady her._

_“I heard. And I’m here.” She cracked a small smile, just a curl at the corner of her mouth, but it was enough to make Tobin visibly relax a bit. She squeezed the tan girl’s shoulder briefly, as though it could help hold her together, before transferring her gaze to the other two. Though all three had soot-smudged faces and reddened eyes, Alex definitely seemed the worst for wear of them; a faint bruise was already beginning to form on the side of her face and the left sleeve of her shirt looked as though it had been slashed open by something._

_“What exactly were-“ Abby’s voice died in her throat as, almost silent in contrast to the ruckus from before, the thing the girls had been fighting earlier rose from where it had lain in the bushes._

_It was something drawn directly from a child’s nightmare, a hulking beast that seemed like an oversized combination of a slew of different animals, with all the worst parts of each: a wolflike fanged muzzle; sloping, massive shoulders; clawed paws wider than her two fists put together; the whole of its powerful frame covered in dark, brown-black fur. It stood nearly as tall as Kling, its thick-furred tail lashing at its powerful hind legs as it snarled, a low, vibrating rumble that she swore she could feel in her chest._

_As she looked into its maddened eyes, she knew an instant before it happened that the beast would spring._

_In the space of a breath that it took the thing to crouch and ready itself, she shifted her body forwards, extending both arms to sweep the three behind her._

_As it leapt, time seemed to slow for a second, and a sense of preternatural calm settled through her. This was all instinct. Physicality._

_She held her stance, shoulders squared, and took one more step forward, bracing herself low against the earth as the beast’s leap brought it to her._

_It cannoned into her with a rush of air, sending her heels back a few inches as they dug in for purchase in the dirt. Her arms closed around the thing’s midsection like a vise, its limbs tangled in hers- its fur rasped across her skin as it struggled, claws raking down her arm, and in a burst of fury she flung all the force of her torso forward and bodily threw the snarling form forward._

_It flew from her arms, the journey quickly arrested with a nasty, shattering thud by a tree several yards away._

_The filter of calm flickered out as quickly as it had come as the trunk of the tree collapsed backwards, broken in half by the force of the impact. At its base, the beast lay half-curled into itself, immobile; more than that she could not judge before urgent hands grabbed her arm._

_“How on earth- how did you just do that?” Alex’s voice rasped fearfully as she tugged at Abby’s arm, as though reassuring herself that she was real. Tobin and Kling shifted closer, their faces mirroring the same questioning awe. Abby shook her head._

_“Don’t know. It’s something to figure out later. For now-“ She broke off, glancing over her shoulder to where Becky and Lauren stood openmouthed on the other side of the courtyard, both frozen midway through helping a seemingly returned-to-consciousness Megan to sit up. They looked as shell-shocked as she began to realize she felt, the first trickle of fear beginning to run through her and weaken her knees as the thought of what she’d just gone up against hit her._

_She straightened, pushing back the disquiet. The safety of the group was more important. “For now we just need to get out of here before the house comes down.”_

_Alex nodded weakly, hesitantly releasing her grip on Abby as she and the two others followed the taller woman over to where Lauren and Becky were now supporting the groggy blonde between them._

_“This is everything we could grab,” Lauren said, nodding to the mismatched satchels she and Becky had slung over their shoulders, “Plus whatever’s in Tobin’s sack.” Tobin flashed a quick thumbs up, sticks still in hand. “Most of the basics,” she rasped with a small smile, jiggling the rucksack on her back with one shoulder._

_“I figured it’d be best if we all got out of here in one piece before doing inventory, hence the rush to get Pinoe going.” Becky gestured to the unsteady blonde, whose arms were draped about them for balance._

_Abby stepped closer to Megan, noting the pallor of her skin and the ashen shade of her lips. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk any distance?”_

_“I dunno, I feel like I could barely stand on my feet if Becky and Chen weren’t-“ she broke off, frowning and squinting at something behind Abby._

_“Who knocked over the tree?”_

_At Megan’s comment, Abby’s eyes flickered back to the jagged stump in question. One part of the scene was missing._

_“Shit.” The creature was gone from where it had lain at the base of the ruined tree._

_Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she gathered Tobin, Alex and Kling behind her, marshaling the group back in the opposite direction of where she had thrown the beast._

_“The thing’s gone.” She whirled around, a protective hand outstretched to each side of the group as she faced the other women. “We have to go. Now. I don’t know if I can do- whatever I did- again if it comes back.”_

_Exchanging looks of concern, the six of them nodded and began to move in the direction she guided them, Megan doing her best to remain upright with a halting stride between Becky and Lauren._

_Before they had gone any substantial distance from the house, Becky detached herself from Lauren and their stumbling friend to come back to Abby, who guided the group from behind, facing backwards and casting about in every direction for signs of the vanished beast as she loped back with long strides._

_“You know we won’t be able to move far with Megan like this,” she said, and Abby’s face creased into a knowing frown. “The group can’t run, or Lauren and I would get left behind with her, and we can’t afford to split up with that-” She halted for a second, and Abby realized her face must be reflecting the whirl of anger and fear that flickered through her at the mention of the hulking creature. “-That thing still around.”_

_Abby grunted, still on high alert. “I know, but something-”_

_A thunderous creaking, crashing sound issued from the house behind them, cutting off all speech as the seven of them spun around to look._

_What remained of the roof of the house collapsed inward with a sound like a detonating bomb, smashing through the two floors below and releasing a shockwave that rushed outward with enough force to ruffle their hair and sent a plume of fire and smoke rocketing skyward from the draft._

_In the instant that they all stood motionless with shock, a familiar, massive form detached itself from the shadows of the nearby treeline and rushed at the group with a snarl. Abby readied herself, a familiar surge of adrenaline coursing through her in anticipation of intercepting the beast, but it rushed straight past her, flinging itself bodily upon Alex._

_As the two of them crashed to the floor, Tobin and Meghan stepping in with sticks and fists respectively, another dark figure emerged from the trees- this one a tall, robed humanoid form with a hand outstretched toward the struggle on the ground._

_Before any of them could make a move in its direction, a command issued from within the figure’s deep hood, and the scuffle halted as the beast froze, one paw still pinning a struggling Alex to the ground. It let loose an unearthly howl, fanged muzzle contorting in a grimace. As Tobin and Kling pulled away slightly to cover their ears, a thick black haze began to rise from its fur, darker than the smoke wafting from the house behind them._

_Abby’s gut twisted- every fiber of her being knew they needed to get away from whatever that was, right now. She rushed towards them with a few long strides, one hand stretched out towards Tobin’s shoulder, when the hanging cloud of miasma rushed outward like a gust of wind._

_It was an assault on her senses: inky blackness obscuring her vision, a sensation like countless sand grains buffeting against her skin, a taste like ashes flooding her mouth and nose, and above all, a pounding current of driving fear that swept away all rational thought._

_Her legs locked, the stride jarring against the ground- momentum carried her forward for a brief moment until her outstretched hand made contact with someone’s shoulder. She straightened up instantly, grabbing at their shirt and dragging them with her as she spun around to run in what her fogged mind hoped was the opposite direction._

_The dark haze receded somewhat after a few frantic strides, enough that she could see Becky and Lauren turning to flee ahead of her, even Megan in her weakened state preparing to run from the terror that they all felt. With a wordless shout, Abby twisted and bodily flung the person she held towards them, their feet sliding along the ground from the force. As Tobin stumbled forward, arms flailing for balance, and cannoned into Lauren, the tall woman spun back around, wrestling with the terror screaming through her head that told her to leave them all and run while she could. Two of them were still back there, in the middle of the dark cloud._

_Flee. Go. Now. The urge pounded in her mind like a chant, but a high scream from the inside the smoke cut through the maddening horror- Alex._

_In an instant, the smoke cleared, coalescing into a series of small, even darker wisps that drifted back to circle the raised hand of the robed figure from before, who now stood over Alex’s crumpled, unmoving form on the ground. The beast and Kling circled each other off to his side, the shorter girl’s eyes flickering back and forth from her opponent to her friend as she backed steadily closer to the hooded menace in a combat stance._

_Another command issued from beneath the hood, the figure’s words made incomprehensible by the distance, and the floating wisps solidified into larger, billowing masses of shadow. As it began a sweeping gesture forward, presumably to send whatever these new horrors were in their direction, a scuffle and an animalistic yelp rang out from the side, and it half turned in time for Kling’s mighty flying kick to connect squarely with its chest, sending both of them tumbling to the ground._

_The figure shouted, a tinge of masculine timbre in its voice made more apparent by the volume despite the ambiguity of what still sounded like a formless jumble of words; it flung out a hand in their direction that was quickly wrestled away by Meghan as she rained blows upon its robed form beneath her. She hadn’t been quick enough, however, and the shadows writhing around its hand detached themselves and rose up above the struggle on the ground, each swelling to a massive size until they looked like jagged rents in reality. For a second, their motion halted, the stillness more ominous than the hypnotic movement from before. With a cry, the figure flung Meghan back and scrambled to its feet; as she rose up from the ground, fists still at the ready, Abby’s view of them was lost as the hanging shadows rushed forward at the rest of them with unearthly speed._

_She had one last glimpse of the scene- the hooded man deflecting a series of strikes from Kling while the beast dragged Alex’s limp form toward the trees by the back of her jacket- before her head snapped forward, body galvanized into a sprint by the sight of the pursuing darkness._

_“Go! Go!” She motioned frantically to the nearby forest’s periphery, the rest of the group breaking into runs of their own as they registered what followed behind her. As they neared the edge of the trees, managing to stay ahead of the encroaching shreds of blackness in a feat of sheer adrenaline, Megan stumbled on a protruding root, twisted and pitched backward. Without breaking stride, Abby bent at the knees and sprang forward to cut her fall short, slinging the weakened blonde across her shoulder in a fireman’s carry with a grunt._

_Their frenzied retreat continued through the trees, the shadows unrelenting in their pursuit as the girls raced through the forest. In each clearing they passed through, the moonlight revealed the same thing behind them- the encroaching darkness, pushing on._

_Screams. Crashing. The roar of the blood in her ears._

_How long could they run? How long would-_

“Abby!”

Gentle hands on her shoulders, shaking. A familiar face swam into view as she forced her eyes open.

She blinked owlishly for a moment before accepting Megan’s proffered hand, the blonde pulling her up from where she had been slumped against a tree, deeply asleep. The exhaustion from their panicked flight, now nearly two days ago, had been slow to leave her, a fact compounded by the stiff soreness in her muscles as she stretched with a groan.

“That’s what you get for falling asleep sitting up,” Pinoe remarked, “Thanks for covering my watch, though.”

Abby grunted as she brought her hands together above her head, slowly straining to loosen up her tight shoulders. “Didn’t mean to drop off like that. One of you could have just switched off with me.” She broke off for a second, focus diverted by the niggling pain of a splinter lodged in her palm- she frowned, bringing her hands back down to pick out the sliver of wood.

“You, of all people, need your rest, we know that. Tobin was fine with staking out on the other side of the clearing for a few hours.” Megan’s eyes softened as Abby continued examining her hands, picking at what seemed to be more splinters lodged in the skin.

“You keep reliving it, don’t you?” Her quiet tone broke Abby’s attention from the embedded shards of wood, the taller woman meeting her gaze with a silent, pained expression.

“The two of them-” She cut herself off, blue eyes darting away from Megan’s concerned brown ones for a moment before flickering back. “I just keep remembering, keep wondering if I could’ve done more.” She swallowed, biting back the part of her that wanted to scream from the injustice of it. Both of them knew, and knew that the other knew, there was little that they could have done in the heat of the moment, but the hurt was still there.

Megan snorted softly, shaking her head with the disdainful sound. “You ‘did’ more than any of us could have- more than should have even been possible, Abbs.” It was Abby’s turn to shake her head, knowing the truth of her friend’s words but not finding the current reality easy to swallow. Before she could protest, a sullen grumbling sound erupted from between them- her stomach.

Rubbing the offending abdomen in an attempt to get it to quiet down, she cracked a rueful smile as Pinoe grabbed her arm. “Let’s get some food in you, we need to get together and figure out where we’re heading today. War-room meeting style,” she quipped as she pulled her friend along towards the clearing where the rest of their group waited.

Abby stumbled as she was tugged along, the motion twisting her head back for a moment. Her glance fell upon the tree where she had slept; at its base, right where she had lain throughout the night, was a thick, cracked root marred with the deep imprint of a hand.

Her gaze was pulled away a second later by another yank from Megan as the energetic blonde trotted along, clearly paying more attention to the smell of cooking food wafting through the trees ahead than her friend’s balance. Abby’s smile widened, the sight of the damaged tree root quickly forgotten as they jogged closer to the clearing.

“What room? We’re in the middle of a forest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome. This definitely isn't my first rodeo as far as fanfiction, but it is my first writing for this fandom. This idea has been taking shape for quite a while now, and the story is only going to get better as it unfolds- hopefully you'll stick with me for that. There's no concrete update schedule for this story; I'll be moving into college a little over a week after posting this, so my life will be a bit topsy-turvy at that point and it's best not to make promises that wouldn't be kept. As it is, I'll be doing my best to slowly but surely chug out more material as time goes on- any wait will be worth it, I promise.  
> Let me know if you like what you've seen so far. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Abby’s nostrils flared as the smell of cooking food reached them, wafting from various little mounds of upturned dirt near the edge of their small campfire. As she and Megan drew closer to where the rest of the group sat sprawled out around the little firepit, Becky greeted them with a glance and a quick wave before returning her attention to one of the piles of earth, which upon closer inspection turned out to be a steaming tin cup filled with clear liquid. Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, she carefully levered it out of its resting place using a forked branch as makeshift tongs, setting it before Lauren, who tore open a small packet of instant coffee and scattered the grains into the scalding water.

“Breakfast’s almost ready,” she grunted, already prodding the next cup free of its support mound and she indicated the two larger piles of dirt to her side, steam issuing from the creased-open plastic bag tops poking out from their tops. “Kept falling over, though, which was about as fun to deal with as you might guess.”

Megan grinned. “Sorry I couldn’t help with the excavating, too busy waking up the Hulk here.” She jerked a thumb in Abby’s direction. The taller girl’s protest at the nickname was cut off before she finished the first word by another loud rumble from her stomach. The group shared a laugh at her before the crinkling of one of the plastic bags followed by a yelp turned everyone’s attention to Tobin.

She grinned ruefully, flapping the hand that had reached into the container in the air in an attempt to cool it off. “Just a hunch, but I think it’s ready,” she joked, gingerly grabbing both corners of the offending bag to shimmy it free of the support mound. Finished mixing the last cup of instant coffee, Lauren reached over to pull the other one free, settling the bag gingerly against her crossed legs.

“It’s not hot enough to burn unless you actually stick your hand in, dork,” she said, rolling her eyes as she snatched the fork Tobin held out in mock disgust. The tanner girl merely pursed her lips against a growing smile, muttering “Don’t make me regret giving you that to eat with” before digging into the bag she held.

While they waited for Lauren and Tobin to finish and pass the bags around- conservation of rations meant only two packages of the rehydratable camping-style food could be opened for each meal, coupled with the fact that Tobin’s fork and spoon were the only utensils they had amid their relative bounty of supplies- Becky relayed the events of the morning in a modulated tone.

“Pinoe’s probably already told you, but Tobin finished out the night on last watch after she found you snoozing.” Her voice dropped to an undertone. “She said she couldn’t sleep much anyway from thinking about Alex and Kling.”

Abby’s gaze flickered to the brown-haired girl in question, noting the faint circles under her eyes and how her shoulders hitched with weariness as she laughed at a joke of Lauren’s.

Becky tilted her head away from Tobin with a meaningful glance at Abby as she continued. “She wandered away a bit on her way back after dawn, found a nice stream a little ways away, and we filled up all three of the canteens and those,” she gestured to the still-steaming tin cups of coffee by the fireside. “Should be cooled down enough to drink soon.”

Abby nodded, knowing they’d all be grateful for the caffeine after the trials of the past few days. “Sterilized?” She asked. Becky nodded, fingering the edge of one of the cups to test its coolness. “The coffee’s boiled,” she replied, “And we split one of those purifying tablets from Chen’s bag between-” she caught herself with a frown- “ _among_ , actually, the canteens. The water will taste weird, but it’s clean.”

The edge of Abby’s mouth quirked up in a grin at the other woman’s attention to grammar. At a nudge from Lauren, Becky accepted the bag of food and settled back on her elbows lazily to eat, legs stretched out in front of her.

“I like this place,” Abby murmured, drawing muffled grunts of agreement from Becky and Megan, who had already started on the other meal pouch. “More open space, more water nearby, less bugs than the last one…” She trailed off as they collectively shuddered at the memory of where they had tried to set up camp the day before, not far from a large murky, boggish area that stank and played host to swarms of midges and mosquitoes that had tormented them enough to make a long hike to their current location necessary. Of course, Tobin had produced a can of bug spray from her slingback bag after the fact- hopefully it wouldn’t be needed any time soon.

Megan’s nudge of the warm food pouch against her arm broke her out of the brief reverie. Taking the proffered bag, the communal spoon sticking out of the top, she dug gratefully into what seemed to be a hearty breakfast hash of potatoes, peppers, and sausage crumbles.

“For what started out as powdery bits in a bag, this stuff is pretty good,” Becky said as she passed her the other meal. Abby accepted it with a thankful nod since her mouth was full, tipping it into the potato pouch, and took a spoonful of the new mixture after  shaking the contents of the bag around a little. Tilting the bag to her mouth to scoop out the last bits of what had become an egg-potato-and-sausage meal, she folded the empty bag in on itself and set the plastic package by her side with a satisfied sigh, spoon on top.

Becky set her fork down next to the spoon, turning to grab two of the small tin cups of coffee. Handing one to Abby, she cradled the hot drink as Lauren passed the others to Tobin and Megan, the latter accepting hers with a grateful mumble of something like “now it qualifies as a morning.”

After a glance around the fire to ensure everyone had their share of coffee, Becky cleared her throat and flicked her long braid over her shoulder before speaking.

“So it’s obvious that we need to find somewhere safe and more permanent than this-” She gestured to the arrangement of space blankets and a ramshackle stick lean-to surrounding the fire, “To hole up in for a while while we regroup, and figure out what happened to Alex and Kling. Problem is, pretty much any chance we had of retracing our steps back to the house after we booked it through the woods went away when we had to get around that nasty swamp yesterday.”

She broke off, indicating the far-off hazy purple line of mountains in the far distance behind Tobin and Lauren with the hand not holding her coffee. “The house was closer to the mountains and we were pretty isolated there, so the farther we get from them the closer we should find ourselves to some type of shelter we can use for a while.”

She glanced at Pinoe as the bleached blonde cut in with a doubtful “You’re saying that just because of where the house was situated?”

Becky shook her head. “People just tend to live in higher concentrations away from the mountains. Even if it’s mostly abandoned homes and the like, it’ll be good for us.”

Before anyone else could speak, Tobin leaned forward conspiratorially in her cross-legged position, jerking her left thumb towards the side of the clearing where she had taken the last watch of the night.

“I got bored and a bit lost when I was wandering around after dawn looking for water, so I climbed a tree and guess what?” She paused, looking around with a smirk at the various raised eyebrows and incredulous expressions of her friends as they awaited her answer. “Everything sort of slopes downward from here, it’s like we’re at the edge of a shallow bowl- and in the middle of the bowl I saw a bit of smoke going up over the trees, like someone’s living there.” She leaned back on her arms, with a satisfied grin, legs crossed in a mimicry of Becky’s casual posture from earlier.

Lauren was the first to break the short silence that followed Tobin’s revelation. “So, this is basically the bug spray all over again?” She elbowed Tobin in the ribs playfully. “You somehow didn’t think this was worth mentioning when you got back?”

“I wanted to wait until we were all together,” Tobin grumbled with a suppressed smile, rubbing her side with a fake pained grimace.

Abby watched them interact, looking pensively over the rim of her nearly-empty coffee cup at the direction Tobin had indicated.

“Smoke means shelter,” she said without lifting her eyes from the horizon, “and traveling down a slope would be easier than hiking back up to somewhere we’re not even sure of anymore for a home that’s…” She trailed off for a second, wondering how to phrase the fact that the house they had been living in had burned to the ground, “Gone now.”

Becky nodded slowly, a contemplative look in her eye. She glanced at Abby as if for approval before speaking up.

“Nothing’s really holding us back from heading in that direction now, then,” she said in a carefully neutral tone. “That is, if everyone’s okay with it.” Tobin and Lauren glanced at each other before both nodding in near unison, after which Becky almost imperceptibly relaxed. With a deliberate glance at her, Abby slowly nodded her approval as well, with an added thumbs up. All their eyes fell on the remaining member of the group as Megan tilted her head back, noisy slurping sounds reverberating from the cup raised to her lips.

“...What?” she said indignantly as she lowered the tin cup to meet Becky’s chagrined gaze. “I fully support it. No sense in heading back where we came- we might run into that thing again.”

Abby winced internally as the blonde stumbled over the subject that she and Becky had seemingly had the same idea to avoid, for Tobin’s sake. A quick glance at the tan girl showed that she was still relaxed and casual as ever after the mention of the beast that had split them from two of her closest friends.

“Right, then.” Abby straightened up, running her fingers through her hair with the hand unoccupied by an empty cup as she stood. “Becky’s right, we’ll be under the trees most of the time we’re moving so the heat won’t be as much of a problem. I say we pack up and head out now that we’re fed and rested- we’ll probably be to wherever this smoke was coming from before the end of the day if we get to it.”

The rest of the group nodded and began to collect their various trappings, plucking blankets from the ground and bundling everything they could into the two large satchels Becky and Lauren had rescued from the fire.

“There had better be something there,” Becky muttered out of the corner of her mouth as Abby passed behind her to hand Tobin the fork and spoon.

**  
**The taller woman passed on, her only reply a quick shake of her head. They needed hope for _something_ in the immediate future, however small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Transitions, transitions- in writing and life (re: my impending move), they're necessary. There's a lot more to come, an important part of that being a bit of general backstory and explanation as to how the gals ended up together and where they were before the cataclysm of chapter one. Let me know what you think so far- speculations, concerns, what-have-you- and stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

_Crack._

 

A stifled laugh, hushed voices breaking through in reprimanding tones, then relative silence for a few precious seconds before-

 

_Snap._

 

Abby paused on the forest trail for what felt like the tenth time in as many minutes, directing an exasperated look back at Megan, whose frozen mid-stride posture and guilty expression marked her as the cause of the repeated noises.

 

The bleached blonde gestured helplessly to the ground underfoot as Lauren, presumably one of the voices that had shushed Megan’s chuckles at her own clumsiness, shook her head with a faint smile. “I can’t help it, there’s branches everywhere!” the less-than-stealthy woman mouthed by way of apology.

 

Abby rolled her eyes, suppressing a grin as she turned away after directing an admonishing finger to the lips at her clumsy friend. As the forest had started to thin slightly during what she guessed would be the final stage of their hike to the mysterious plume of smoke, it had become apparent that a silent (or as close as they could get to it, at any rate) approach into the unknown territory would be most advisable.

 

She glanced up yet again to ensure that they remained on course to the ever-nearing column of smoke, which had reappeared over the trees while they were packing up at the campsite a few hours ago. It being an hour or two past noon, she had to squint to pick out the grey smudge rising up into the sky only a short distance away; not for the first time, Abby found herself wishing someone had happened to bring sunglasses.

 

Noticing what appeared to be a more clearly-defined break in the trees ahead, Abby came to a halt and signaled the others to do the same by raising a clenched fist. The other four women quickly gathered around her, Megan taking a few extra seconds to join the group as she picked her way along the trail with pointedly exaggerated care.

 

“I’m betting whatever that smoke’s coming from is in or around that clearing up ahead. We don’t want a repeat of the house,” Abby said, her hushed but urgent tone reflected in the serious nods of her companions as the huddled close together, listening. “We’ll fan out, not split up, to cover angles and stay together.”

 

At the others’ nods of assent, she stepped back from the group, orienting herself towards the clearing. “I’ll take the middle, Megan to my left, Tobin on the right. Becky, Cheney, take the ends,” she gestured as they got into position in a spaced-out line, her position slightly more forward that the others’. With a swallow, the tall woman steeled herself and began to stealthily make her way towards the clearing.

 

The group managed to reach the edge of the trees without further incident before they were halted again by a silent signal from Abby. The five women looked on in bewilderment at the scene of the clearing before them.

 

In the middle of the open space, facing away from them, stood a long-limbed blonde woman stooped over a fire- the source of the smoke they had been following since the morning. A series of twisting tattoos was visible on her arm and shoulders as she prodded at the fire with a well-charred branch, sending up gouts of grey smoke.

 

Near the opposite edge of the clearing stood a small canvas tent, a few objects scattered around its opening. Three long spears stood to its side, their metal tips buried into the earth and keeping them rigidly upright.

 

After taking in the scene, Abby was more confused than when they had set off on their trek to find the source of the smoke. With such dangerous entities roaming the area with seeming free reign, why was this woman so nonchalant with her own safety? Even if she didn’t know about the dark man and his beast, then why would a lone traveler make their camp in such a deserted region, miles from the nearest town?

 

She decided to wait to find out the answers. After their journey, the group would need rest. They could postpone approaching this woman until they had kept an eye on her for longer.

 

A finger to her lips, she glanced to either side to ensure the rest of the women got the message before gesturing with her free hand to for move on to the left. As the five of them skirted around the perimeter of the clearing, Abby instinctively held her breath. They needed to reach the opposite edge of the clearing to be able to move back into the deeper tree cover without the sounds of their passage alerting the mysterious woman to her company.

 

As they had nearly reached the point where their noises would be hardest to hear and the woman’s tent would block them from view if she turned around, Megan stumbled over a tree root and pitched forward. Stifling a curse, Abby lunged forward and grabbed the clumsy blonde’s wrist to keep her from crashing to the ground, but Pinoe had already landed heavily on her right foot. For a split second the taller woman thought they would remain undetected- they hadn’t made that much noise at all considering the circumstances- until the ground beneath Megan’s foot began to glow.

 

The unfortunate woman lifted her foot cautiously from the patch of earth, revealing an illuminated symbol seemingly etched into the forest floor that quickly became too bright to look at. As the five of them edged away from it, unsure of what might happen, the command to turn to the forest and run formed on Abby’s lips before a beam of bluish-white light shot skyward from the center of the insignia.

 

The light quickly fanned out until both sides met with the ground, curving left and right to form a translucent wall that crackled slightly with errant sparks of energy and stretched what looked to be twenty feet in the air. Abby whirled around, gauging in an instant that the wall formed a circled around the clearing, trapping them on the inside.

 

At the same time, as the edges of the light wall met in front of her, the woman tending the fire stiffened. Straightening from her post, she thrust the charred stick she held into the ground by the blaze and crossed the clearing to her tent in a few quick, loping strides. Grabbing one of the spears that stood by its side, she yanked the weapon free from the earth and turned towards where the group stood hidden among the trees, holding it ready in one hand.

 

A burst of the now-familiar furious strength rushed through Abby as the woman began to stalk towards them slowly. With a growl, she slammed her fist into the wall of light- the force of the blow shuddered up her arm as her fist connected with the force field, thin red cracks snaking their way out from the point of impact. As she watched, however, the cracks vanished as though wiped away and the wall remained standing.

 

Abby whirled around, gesturing the others towards her. The tall woman swallowed, tamping down the fear boiling within her.

 

“There’s more of us than her. Don’t be afraid,” She murmured firmly, gesturing quickly at the clearing, before squaring her shoulders and taking a few steps forward to emerge from the trees.

 

As they stepped into the clearing not ten yards from the woman, the other four holding wary combat stances slightly behind Abby, the woman turned towards them with her spear raised. Her voice rang out in a challenge.

 

“Who the hell are you, and why are you here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm not dead after all. Finals season ended up taking more of my free time than I anticipated, but I made it through. Being on break now, I can finally write more of this story, and I'm so excited for this and the next few chapters to come out- they just have to be written right!  
> On another note, I've taken some elements from another popular media franchise and woven them into this story. It'll be more obvious in later chapters, but for now, can anyone guess what that franchise is? I'll give you bonus points.  
> Finally, shoutout to Guest64 for their persistence in checking back to see if I'd updated. ;P You're a trooper, my friend.  
> Thanks! Till next time!


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